In this article we saw how to shut down a PC running on Windows 8. Now we will see how to restart it, when we need it. Like the shut down command, the restart option is not very easy to find with the new behavior of the Start button and the new Metro interface.

Method 1: From the Charms menu

1 Open Charms menu

Press Windows + C keys.

2 Settings

In the bottom-right corner, click on Settings.

3 Restart

Then click Power and choose Restart.

Method 2: Using Alt + F4

1 Go to Desktop

Press Windows + D to go to desktop.

2 Alt + F4

Click once on your desktop, then press Alt + F4.

3 Restart

Choose Restart and press Ok.

Method 3: Using Custom Shortcut

We will create a custom shortcut which can be added to Taskbar and you can use it anytime to restart the PC with a single mouse click, like we did for the shut down process.

1 Go to Desktop

Press Windows + D to go to Desktop.

2 Create shortcut

Right click on desktop, then choose New, then choose Shortcut

3 shutdown /r /t 0

Then enter these text and click Next.

shutdown /r /t 0

NOTE: at the end is “zero”, not the letter O.

Then rename the shortcut to restart.exe and then click Finish.

4 Change its icon

We want to change its icon image with another one, to not restart the computer by mistake.
Right click on the shortcut, then choose Properties.

5 Shortcut tab

Go to Shortcut tab, then click Change icon.

Click Ok if you have a message like this.

6 Choose icon

Choose an icon, then click Ok.

Then click Apply and Ok.

7 Pin to Taskbar

Right click on the icon, then choose Pin to Taskbar.

8 Restart

You can delete the icon from Desktop. We have it now on the Taskbar.
If you click once on it, the computer will be restarted.